Jeff Malet Photography in Action : Photo Keywords : 6131 : Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies at a hearing of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth hearing on deficits, with testimony from Greenspan, former Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor, former Reagan economic adviser Martin Feldstein, former Michigan Gov. John Engler, and Edward Kleinbard, former chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. The hearing took place on Tuesday September 13, 2011 on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The panelists were questioned on whether changing the tax code could help reduce the federal deficit. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), chaired the hearing, Greenspan told the subcommittee that he supports eliminating what he called unnecessary tax breaks in order to help cut the deficit and avoid a federal budget crisis, and that tax cuts that are paid for by borrowing are undesirable. He also said entitlement spending is a major contributor to the debt and that it will only get worse as the population ages. He also said that there is no credible way to control the government's debt without inflicting pain on the economy. (Photo by Jeff Malet)